As blasting continues unabated in Aravallis, Nuh administration lodges FIR, orders border demarcation
Laxmi Narayan, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, told The Indian Express he reached the site on June 27 with officials from the State Enforcement Bureau after receiving complaints from the Pathrili village. The village is located on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan. While Rajasthan allows mining via leases, all such activities have been banned in Haryana by the Supreme Court.
The official said the alleged illegal miners fled with their machinery by the time the team reached, but they saw some of the trucks that had damaged substantial hillocks in the protected Aravallis.
Speaking with The Indian Express, the SDM said, 'We will take strict action against all those responsible. An FIR was filed over the weekend. I have ordered that a fresh and clear demarcation of the border be done by the mining department by erecting new pillars and signboards. We will assess and know the full damage done thereafter.'
He said the First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against unknown persons under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.
Mining in the Aravalli region in the Gurgaon, Faridabad, and Nuh districts has been prohibited by the Supreme Court since 2002.
In May, the Supreme Court had taken exception to the Haryana Government's alleged inaction against illegal mining in the Aravallis in Nuh. The top court had noted that the mining mafia in the region seemed to be protecting the errant officials aiding the illegalities.
The apex court sought a detailed report from the Haryana Government by July 15, and said it found the chief secretary's affidavit evasive and insufficient for shifting the onus to the forest department.
In June, the Haryana Government began efforts to restore 25,000 hectares of degraded forest area in the Aravallis — long been hailed as the 'lungs' of the National Capital Region (NCR).
The Aravalli range passes through Gurgaon, Nuh, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Mahendergarh, and Charkhi Dadri districts of Haryana. Nuh has the largest recorded forest area among these, with 14,606 hectares.
The range, which extends from Southwest Gujarat in Champaner to Northeast Delhi and Haryana, acts as a natural barrier against incursion of sand, loo, and dust from the Thar desert.
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